Fans of The New Girl know Megan Fox was briefly called on to star in the sitcom when show front Zooey Deschanel was taking time off from filming while she was expecting. But Zooey isn’t the only one who’s got kids waiting for her at home! Megan famously has three young boys with her husband, 90210 alum Brian Austin Green.

The couple began dating in 2004 after meeting on the set of Hope & Faith — she was only 18, while he was 30. Despite their large age gap, the couple made things work. They were engaged in 2006 and married in 2010. Their first son, Noah Shannon, was born in 2012, while their middle son, Bodhi Ransom, was born in 2014. Megan made headlines when she filed for divorce from her husband in 2015. However, they soon called things off after it was revealed she was pregnant again. Their son, Journey River, was born in 2016.

Zooey and her husband, Jacob Pechenik, share two children. They were married in 2015, the same year that their first child, daughter Elsie Otter, was born. Their son, Charlie Wolf, was born in 2017. Keep reading to see the different ways these two actresses are raising their kids.

20 Megan: She Uses A Night Nurse

With three boys and a hectic Hollywood life, it’s hard not to assume that Megan relies on a bit of hired help to get through her days. The celebrity once revealed that she reached a breaking point where she told her husband they had to hire a night nurse - or she was going to lose a lot more than sleep.

“Two weeks ago I said to Brian, 'We have to get a night nurse or we're going to get a divorce because somebody's got to sleep in this house or we're going to [end] each other,’” she once told The Mirror.

19 Zooey: She’s Raising Her Kids To Be Feminists

Fans love that Zooey has been so open about how she’s raising both of her children to be strong and independent. When her daughter was only 2 years old, the actress admitted she was already teaching her about feminist values.

“I think that the main thing is just not standing in their way. My daughter is only 2, but she’s so strong and confident,” Zooey once shared, Huffington Post reports. “I think it’s not letting those societal kind of pressures and those stereotypes affect them. Mainly I think it’s protecting her confidence, because she was born with it.”

She continued, “I come from a family of pretty strong-willed women, and all the women in my husband’s family are amazing. I think we have a pretty good network for strong women, so that’s a start. I think it’s mainly encouraging kids to express themselves and speak out and be confident.”

18 Megan: Only Accepts Family-Friendly Roles Now

At the beginning of her work in the biz, Megan was making headlines for her striking looks, with many tabloids declaring she was the new Angelina Jolie. However, fans have noticed the celebrity has taken on less risqué film roles in recent years. Megan has since admitted that becoming a mom inspired her to choose more wholesome roles.

"It changes your perspective [...] when you have a baby," she told The Mirror in 2012."I'm going to be more cautious about choosing films because I'm already thinking about when he's in school and his friends are going to be showing him my photo shoots with me in a bikini and he's going to be horrified. So that will deter me from making some of the choices I made before."

17 Zooey: She Named Her Kids After Animals

While the first names of her children might be classic and cute, Zooey and her husband thought a bit out-of-the-box when it came to choosing middle names for their children. The parents allowed nature to inspire the names, which is how each of their kids is named after an animal: Elsie’s middle name is Otter, while Charlie’s is Wolf.

Zooey said the decision was pretty simple for her and her husband. They both love animals, so why not? “We both love otters because they're so sweet and smart. They hold hands while they sleep,” she once explained, Huffington Post reports.

16 Megan: She’s Raising Her Kids Gender-Neutrally

Many fans love Megan’s modern approach to parenting. The actress has been open about how she’s raising her boys gender-neutrally, meaning she doesn’t want them confined by stereotypes or traditional gender roles. Megan once said that being a tomboy in her own childhood has helped inform her approach.

"Much of my ego has been constructed around this idea that I'm not like most girls. I'm somehow more masculine, tougher, less permeable or feminine,” she once shared, Media Planet reports. “When I became pregnant with Noah, I could feel, through my mother's intuition I suppose, that he was not subscribing to gender stereotypes, so I decided to provide an environment for him early on that would allow him to discover how he wanted to express himself.”

15 Zooey: The Kids Don’t Get Screen Time

Megan isn’t the only mother who limits her children’s time in front of a screen! Zooey has also admitted that she limits her kids’ exposure to electronics and technology (despite her kiddos being huge Frozen fans!).

“My 3-year-old loves Frozen. I think that’s a milestone,” she told People last year. “She’s really not allowed to have screen time. She’s seen it once or twice on a plane but she just sings the songs all the time. We listen to the songs all the time, we dress up in the costumes. It’s a daily thing.”

14 Megan: She Lets Her Boys Wear Dresses

Part of Megan’s gender-neutral approach means she allows her boys to look how and wear what they want, even if that means dresses and skirts. The actress has been spotted out various times with her sons while they’re rocking princess dresses and long hair.

Despite receiving backlash from fans over her sons’ outfits, Megan has said she believes it’s harmful to control how children want to express themselves appearance-wise. “If a boy loves princesses and a girl loves baseball, that's not indicative of their [orientation]," she told Media Planet.

Megan added, “It's indicative of their communication and creative expression. We can't limit children by telling them how they should play.”

13 Zooey: She Brings The Kids To Set

Although Megan Fox has said various times she rarely brings her kids to set, Zooey is one celebrity mama who loves having her children to work. Back when she was still filming for New Girl, the actress would often have her kids right there with her.

"I had my daughter with me for her first year, and then, I'm going to have my son with me this year on set," Zooey told Parents last year. "They'll be at work with us so they'll coexist together.” We can only imagine how much Zooey’s co-stars must love receiving impromptu visits from her mini-mes.

12 Megan: The Kids Aren’t Allowed To Watch TV

This is proof that Megan can be a strict mama! While speaking to Fandango, the actress once admitted that her sons aren’t allowed to watch TV. She does, however, allow them to watch movies on occasion.

“I don’t let them watch TV because there’s no beginning, middle, and end. TV just goes on nonstop forever, and because of advertising and all of that, I don’t allow them to watch it,” she told the publication.

“I do select certain movies I think are appropriate that have positive messaging or visually inspiring,” she continued. “I let them watch Finding Nemo, of course, because I think that’s a positive message and a beautiful movie. And I let Noah watch Peter Pan, which he’s obsessed with – that’s his favorite movie so far.”

11 Zooey: She Keeps The Kids On A Tight Schedule

Between balancing her home life with work, we imagine Zooey doesn’t have a lot of free time to mess around with. When asked how she does it all, the actress once said she didn’t know how she could do things without keeping her family on a strict schedule.

“Get the kids on a schedule. If they have regular naps and they don’t get too overtired they sleep so much better at night,” she once explained, Huffington Post reports. “And when you’re able to get sleep as a parent, you’re a better parent and a better human.”

10 Megan: The Kids Can’t Use Technology

Megan has always been open about her free-spirited approach to parenting. She’s said that she’d rather have her boys playing outside or using imagination rather than being entertained by technology. That’s why she says her sons are largely limited from playing with electronics.

"I try not to..." she shared with People in 2016, of letting the kids use technology. "It's hard to make them super nerds if I don't let them watch television or movies, or get on an iPhone or an iPad. So right now, I'm making my kids into artistic nature-hippies. We'll see what happens. At some point, they'll choose what they want to be."

9 Zooey: She Makes Her Kids Garden

Just like Megan, Zo0ey is another celebrity mama is who is passionate about making sure her children eat healthily. The star had a clever hack to help encourage her children to eat more greens: get them involved with gardening.

“When we started keeping a garden, our daughter became more interested. She sees broccoli growing and we say, ‘You can eat this!’” Zo0ey told She Knows about her daughter Elsie.

She added that adding new spices to meals also helps her kids eat adventurously. “It’s a wonderful way of changing their minds about things they’re not ordinarily attracted to. If you put lemon juice, olive oil and sea salt on anything, it’s going to taste delicious,” she explained.

8 Megan: Her Husband Does The Cooking And Cleaning

Given that Megan once described herself as the “dirtiest” person she knew, no fans expect her to keep her home in tip-top shape. The actress once revealed that it’s her husband, Brian Austin Green, who does the majority of the housework. In addition, he also does most of the cooking, too.

"My husband is amazing. He does the majority of the work, including the cooking, and he's been really good because I've been so tired,” she told The Mirror in 2012. “He does more work than I do and he's just a champ. He's very maternal and he loves taking care of kids so I really lucked out."

7 Zooey: She Expects The Kids To Volunteer

Her children may barely be in elementary school, but Zooey has admitted that her children are and will be expected to volunteer and give back to causes they’re passionate about. The actress said she’s already teaching them about awareness and humanitarian issues- how amazing is that?

“It’s really important to teach your kids at a young age to volunteer and how to help raise money and raise awareness,” she once told Huffington Post. “I think raising awareness about issues is the most important thing, because not everyone has the time to volunteer or the funds to donate money, but if you are able to spread the word then the awareness really sparks a lot of the ability of these causes to attract attention and to fix some of the problems that are out there.”

6 Megan: Only Stocks Her Home With Healthy Food

Although it’s Megan’s husband that does most of the cooking in her home, it sounds like the actress still has control over what food comes into her home. She once revealed that she makes sure her family eats very healthy - something that her husband doesn’t always sound appreciative of.

"[Brian] never gets to eat anything fun because my house is so clean and I make him eat really clean, too, so maybe I'll get him a ... chocolate cake or something. He'll be so happy to see junk food,” she said last year, E! News reports. However, the celebrity added that she does have a sweet tooth. “I can be a sweet person...” she said.

5 Zooey: Put Her Work On Hold For Her Kids

Although Zooey wrapped up her famous sitcom New Girl after she’d had both of her children, don’t expect the actress to be back in front of the camera anytime soon. Zooey has said on various occasions that she’ll be taking a step back from the spotlight in coming years to focus on her two children.

"I've slowed things down a bit. I think it's good for your whole self— your creative self, your professional self, and just your soul— to take a little time for yourself and your family,” she told Redbook last year. “You can spend your whole life going after things, but I think you risk missing out on some really powerful self-reflection."

4 Megan: She’s Raising Her Kids Religiously

Even though Megan is known for her free spirit attitude and open-minded beliefs, the actress once revealed that she still wants to raise her children in a religious environment. In fact, she’s said that being so rebellious in her younger years is what’s now pushing her back into the church.

"I went through a stage in my early 20s when I was very rebellious against how I was raised and I wasn't worried about faith or religion but now, maybe because of getting married and wanting to have a family, I've come back full circle," she explained to the Mirror.

3 Zooey: She Donates All Of Her Old Baby Things

Just because she’s worth a few million doesn’t mean Zooey is wasteful when it comes to her baby things! Fans were impressed when the actress once revealed that she always donates her children’s old things.

“I had been donating stuff since my daughter was born, and you always have so much extra. They’ll grow out of a diaper size and you bought extra,” she once said to People.

“Or they grow out of clothes. There’s so much turnover, and there’s so much stuff you have with babies, and there’s so many things that you need,” the mom-of-two continued. “So every time she would grow out of a diaper size, I would donate to Baby2Baby. I was so impressed how many people they were able to reach, and how efficient they were.”

2 Megan: Has No Relationship With Her Step-Son

Megan’s husband Brian has an older son, Kassius, from his previous relationship with actress Vanessa Marcil. Although Vanessa is largely absent from the public eye nowadays, she did come forward last year to say that Brian and his family have barely anything to do with the teenager.

In a post to social media, Vanessa claimed Brian cut his son out of his life in 2006 when he and Megan tried to get full-time custody of him but lost their bid. “Kass has never met his youngest brother and is not allowed to know where his bio father, stepmother and three younger brothers live,” she wrote. “He has only seen his dad in passing in public places.”

“Everyone knows Brian doesn’t have contact with Kassius. That’s his choice, but it doesn’t make it right,” a source told People at the time. “Brian is a great dad to his sons with Megan, so it’s absolutely strange that he doesn’t see Kassius.”

1 Zooey: She Hates Travelling With The Kids

We imagine that Zooey has to travel a lot for work. And it turns out the celebrity tries to take her children along with her as much as possible. But that’s anything other than a walk in the park. Zooey has been open about the challenges that come with flying with young children.

“Traveling I think is really hard. She’s great on the plane, but they stopped letting people go first with babies,” she has said,  Hello Giggles reports.And there’s so much stuff! And I was really excited about this privilege that you get to get on first if you have a baby. But the first time we went on a plane with her, we were like, ‘OK we’re ready!’ And they were like, no.”

Sources: Media Planet, E! News, The Mirror, She Knows, Hello Giggles, Huffington Post, Parents, Redbook